Rail plate and fastener



J. G. HILL.

ATE AND FA 24, 1919- 1,338,016. Patented Apr. 27, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

J. G. HILL.

RAIL, PLATE AND FASTENER- APPLICATION FILED JULY 24,1919.

1,333,01 v Patented Apr. 27, 1920 2 SHEETSSHEET 2- WITNESSES INVENTQR JOHN G, HILL.)

Arm/Mrs JOHN GARRETT HILL, OF CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE.

RAIL PLATE AND FASTENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented 211913127, 1920.

Application filed July 24, 1919. Serial Ito. 312,985.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN G. HILL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chattanooga, in the county of Hamilton and State of Tennessee, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Rail Plates and Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

M oresent invention relates 'enerall to y J. b

track securing devices, and more particularly to a simple economical rail plate and fastener, my object being the provision of an effective device of th s nature which may be used in practice with great advantage over the usual rail holding means, in order to prevent overturning and creeping of rails as well as an arrangement whereby the rails may be readily and quickly released and removed when substitution becomes necessary.

In the accompanying drawings illustrat ing my present invention and forming a part of this speci ication:

Figure 1 is a perspective section illustrating the practical application of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section.

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the tie plate.

Fig. 4 is a similar view of the rail holding plate looking atits upper face.

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the rail holding plate looking at the lower face thereof.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through a portion of my improved device.

Fig. 7 is a detailed perspective view of the wedge, and

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective View of a similar modified form of wedge.

Referring now to these figures, my present invention proposes the use of a rail holding device including a tie plate 10. preferably of the oblong form shown, which is disposed on the upper surface of a tie 11 with the longitudinal axes thereof parallel to one another, the lower surface of this tie plate being provided with transverse ribs 12 engaging the material of the tie 11 to defeat lengthwise shifting movement of the plate on the tie and thus relieve the strain against the spikes, one of which is seen at 13 in Fig. 6, driven into the tie 11 through openings 14 as seen in Fig. 3 arranged at diametrically opposite corners of the plate 10. This plate is provided with end flanges disposed,

15 and has flanges 16 extending partially along one side and having overhanging lips 17. The upper surface of the tie plate 10 is also preferably grooved as seen at 18 and a spike receiving opening 19 is extended therethrough for the purposes which will be presently described.

1V ith the tie plate 10 there is adapted to cooperate a rail holding plate 20, the latter of which has adjacent to one end thereof, an upstanding lug or abutment 21, the inner portion of which is undercut to receive the base flan e 22 of a rail 23 beneath the lug. At its opposite end the rail holding plate 20 has an upstanding lug 24 in the nature of a wedge block provided along its inner face with an inclined slot 25 and having an enlarged groove 26 disposed parallel to slot 25 and communicating with the latter to receive the longitudinally extending side key 2. of the wedge 28, the lower fiat bearing face 29 of which wedge extends parallel to the u per rail receiving surface of plate 20 when the key 27 thereof is inserted in the slot and groove of the wedge block 2%. Thus in the effective position, shifting movement of the wedge block 28 lengthwise of the rail 23 in one direction will serve to wedge the lower surface 29 of the block downwardly upon the side edge of the rail flange 22 at a point opposite to its engagement beneath the undercut lug 21 of the rail holding plate, it being understood that the rail holding plate will be so that its wedging action will be increased upon movement of the rail 23 in the direction in which its usual tendency is to creep.

The lower surface of the rail holding plate 20 has ribs 30 which engage and cooperate with the grooves 18 of the tie plate 10 on which the rail holding plate is disposed in practice, and plate 20 is further provided in one corner with a spike receiving aperture 31 arranged to aline with the spike receiving aperture 19 of the tie plate 10 when the rail holding plate is disposed on the tie plate, in non shiftable relation between the end flanges 15 of the tie plate and with one side edge extending beneath the lips 17 of the tie plate flange 16.

Thus it is obvious that by the use of a spike 32 through the openings 31 and 19 of the plates 20 and 10 and engagement between these plates, otherwise, as above stated, the rail holding plate 20 will be nil-4 effectively secured and it is further obvious that through the cooperation of the lug 21 of plate 20 and the wedge 28 in the effective position shown in Figfl, a rail 23 will be gripped in such manner that any tendency to creep will but serve to further tighten the clamping engagement of the wedge and the rails will be held against spreading as well as overturning.

It is contemplated that the spacing between the lug or abutment 21 and the wedge block 2st on the rail plate will accommodate the heaviest rails now used and it is obvious that if lighter rails are to be used, this space will not be wholly taken up by the base flanges of the lighter rails. To this end, I may in the case last mentioned, utilize a wedge 33 of the type shown in Fig. 8, similar in all respects to the wedge 28 previously described, with the exception that its lower face has a depending rib 34 along the inner edge which extends into the space between the rail base 35 and the wedge block 24 as seen in Fig. 2, so as to avoid any lateral play of the rail.

By reference to Figs. d, 7 and 8, it will also be noted that the wedge block 24:, 28 and 33 may respectively have upper trans verse openings 24, 28 and 38, so that the openings of the wedges when driven singly into the wedge block will aline with-the openings of the wedge block for the reception of cotter pins secured to wires and the like, in order that the wedge blocks may be securely held in effective position.

I claim:

1. A device of the character described comprising a tie plate, a rail plate seated in connectiontherewith and provided with opposed projections one of which is in the form of an undercut lug and the other of which upstands in spaced, opposed relation to the lug and has a channel inclined with respect to the upper face of its plate, and

a wedge having a downwardly facing gripping surface and provided with a key arranged to slidably inter t the channel of the said projection, said plates having spike receiving apertures for the purpose described.

2. A device of the character described comprising a tie plate, fastening means therefor, a rail plate disposed on the tie plate and concealing said fastening means, said tie plate and said rail plate having relatively engaging means to prevent lateral and vertical shifting movements of the latter, fastening means common to said tie and rail plates, and rail engaging means carried by the rail plate, as describec.

3. A device of the character described comprising a tie plate, a rail plate disposed on the tie plate, said tie plate and said rail plate having relatively engaging means to prevent lateral and vertical shifting movements of the latter, and rail engaging means carried by the rail plate, said tie plate having spike receiving apertures, certain of which are covered by imperforate portions of the rail plate, and said rail plate having a spike receiving aperture to register with a similar aperture of the tie plate, as described. 7

l. A device of the character described comprising a tie plate having spike receiving apertures, a rail plate disposed on the tie plate, having a spike receiving aperture to register with a certain spike receiving aperture of the tie plate, and having imperforate portions covering the other spike receiving apertures of the tie plate, said tie plate having flanges provided with inturned lips beneath which portions of the rail plate extend, and said tie and rail plates having relatively engaging ribs and recesses, and rail engaging means carried by the rail plate, as and for the purpose described.

JOHN GARRETT HILL. 

